ABSTRACT
The sustainability policy arena is awash with information. Such information seeks to change decisions by pointing out the benefits of adopting a sustainable practice; or it is supposed to persuade the audience of the importance of sustainability and thereby to change their values; or it offers new knowledge about the possibilities of being sustainable. This chapter addresses the information that is offered in the context of sustainable urban development. It will show how such information defines the object of sustainable urban development and how this affects the networks governing the production of urban development, privileging certain expertise. A number of different information regimes will be discussed – including BREEAM (the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method) and similar building assessments; ecological footprinting; the definition of zero-carbon and associated carbon metrics; and the reliance on best practice exemplars. First though the model implicit in the offer of information is considered.
